“I move… I am alive…”
Paul Zimmerman in conversation with Noam Ben-Jacov
Paul Zimmerman: Space and movement are always present in your artwork. Why are they important?
Noam Ben-Jacov: Movement…I move…I’m alive… and for this you need some space…space to function, to breeze to breeze out, space to take space to and to give.
space to move in and to observe the horizons getting further away from…
PZ: What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
NBJ: Keeping and remaining as close and truthfully to myself, making the least concession I can and yet remain as clear… as associative as can be.
Try carrying the viewers into my world, let the work talk, shout or perhaps… preferably to sing…
Expressing myself so the viewers will not be saying: oh, I don’t understand… well in that respect I will be responding: don’t understand just feel…
PZ: Your work with various mediums in a wide range of disciplines. How do you select them?
NBJ: Most of my work are rather autobiographies… this is the way they have been conceived…. the way they arrived / came to this world, so when starting I do not losing time on the disciplines
I am just concentrating on how I really feels… this thoughts… I’m doing my best…. Crystalizing the thoughts and the feels into material into form. If you do looking very carefully you can almost always see the connecting lines.
PZ: Do you have any particular goal in mind when your start a new piece?
NBJ: With all honesty mostly not. If it is an order, or requested specific project I do my best to remains as close as I can with the project subject but…. all ways not loosing my language
Often when ‘on the way…’ I am very concentrated with the way… so spouses… perhaps the answer is: just to enjoy the way and hopping for a satisfying and safe arrival.
PZ: How do you know when the work is finished?
NBJ: Good point… I don’t really know… It can always go on and on but at some point you just feel it is enough – done, move to the next chapter.
I belong to this group of people that easily returning after some time to an old work keep dealing with from another angle and time…
PZ: Has your practice changed over time?
NBJ: Yes, sure. As my work is very much connected to the how and to the ’where I am on a spiritual way…’ as such it is non stop on the move. As my work is very much time consuming it take sometimes much time to move from one to the other but…
PZ: Which artists are you most influenced by?
NBJ:Eadweard Muybridge, Da Vinci, Arvo Pert (composer), Beethoven…
PZ: How would you define art?
NBJ: Perhaps as images, anecdotes from my own life which has been crystalized… translated into form… my be sorts of existentialism?
PZ: What are you working on now?
NBJ: Preparing a new show in the city of Haarlem the Netherlands for 22/03/21.then coming few more…
This time as curator and participants, for this event will be creating a new live performance with one dancer and cellist player.
PZ: How does the pandemic influence your work and sensibility?
NBJ: Not too much as mostly working alone. More peace in mind… can look, viewing things taking more time and wider perspective.
Good for our planet good for us all in broad sense, if you lost family, friends naturally different. But…. hope good things will grow out of it…